Tactics are tempting. We can lean into them, invest, build our skills and count on results.

Strategies are more elusive. And a mismatch between strategy and tactics leads to wasted effort.

In this 2 x 2 grid, you can see how easy it is to get stuck.

The worst outcome is a misguided strategy supported by poorly executed tactics. This is the muck… you’re not sure where you’re going, and you’re not going anywhere in particular.

The top left and bottom right are a bit better, tempting even, but ultimately non-productive.

If you are showing up with skill and effort and executing perfectly, all in support of a strategy that doesn’t make sense, you’ve wasted your effort.

And if your strategy is brilliant but the work you’re doing doesn’t deliver on it, the effort is just as wasted.

Perhaps your strategy is to be “familiar to strangers,” and you decide to use social media to get the word out and reach the masses. It’s possible your persistent and consistent efforts will lead to millions of views. But if the product or service you’re offering doesn’t lend itself to casual interactions and impulse purchases, your strategy won’t work, regardless of how well your team delivered on the tactics.

When the world changes, and it does, the tactics we depend on don’t always support the strategy we need.